How do you guys fight burnout over the summer?

[DrShephardWannabe]

So I'm a junior and normally my summers consisted of just working as a server 40-50 hrs/week to make enough money to help pay for food during the school year. That was never stressful as I could clock in, clock out, and go home and play video games. By next semester I would always feel like I had enough time to wind down and get ready to kick some butt in the Fall.

But now I'm taking physics and physics lab (By far my worst subject come to find out) on top of 20 hrs/week of research + volunteering. I just feel as if the Spring semester never ended and it's a constant struggle 24/7 to keep my grades up (Sitting at a 3.4s/3.5c so I need to do well the next two years). I know the good old days of having summers off are gone, but what do you guys do to keep motivation after seemingly endless battles to keep your GPA up?

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[chemist16]

3.4 sGPA and 3.5 cGPA are not bad at all. I think you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself to do well and it's really showing. Just take some time to have fun. Take a week off from volunteering or working. Think of it as personal time. It's not healthy to constantly stretch yourself to the point of breaking.

 

[Jerologist]

One thing that helps me is spending time with other people. They help me realize that life is short, and you can't neglect the importance of relationships among the madness of keeping up GPA, gaining EC's, studying for MCAT, etc. We'll be busy for the rest of our lives, so it's important to know how to balance things.

 

[DrShephardWannabe]

One thing that helps me is spending time with other people. They help me realize that life is short, and you can't neglect the importance of relationships among the madness of keeping up GPA, gaining EC's, studying for MCAT, etc. We'll be busy for the rest of our lives, so it's important to know how to balance things.

I didn't really realize it until you said it, but this is probably the biggest reason I'm feeling so stressed. During the semester I get to spend time with all my friends but now during the summer my girlfriend and all my friends are at camps/abroad/home etc.

 

[dgu334]

you'll realize in med school that your "burning out" now is not really burning out..

 

[vellez]

Do things that you enjoy. I know there are certain classes you have to take that you probably dislike...but you do have a lot of control over the volunteer and research work that you do. I found that doing things that I liked made it easier to not get burnt out from classes.

 

[gannicus89]

Adjust your research hours. Research killed my sci gpa. Your gpa will always trump your ECs. And it seems you have balanced ECs anyway.